RECENTLY, THAT RARE thing happened: President Thabo Mbeki gave an interview at the SABC headquarters in Auckland Park.

Amidst the general waffle, one remark stood out: the President claimed that it was merely a perception that crime was out of control – and not reality. He added that most South Africans agree with him.

He is clearly oblivious to what his citizens feel: an annual poll by Markinor released this week showed 60% of South Africans believe the government is not doing enough to fight crime.

They may just be right. After all, if crime is really under control then why are 18000 victims – enough people to fill 45 jumbo jets – murdered every year? Why does a rape occur in SA once every ten minutes? And why do the police’s crime stats – dubious at best, a downright fallacy at worst – take months to be released?

The President believes crime is under control because, like the others in power, he is safeguarded, cocooned and insulated from the brutally violent reality that South Africans of all races, classes and cultures are faced with every single day.

Tragically, we are paying the price of a delusional president: crime has morphed into an endemic monster on the ANC’s languid guard, tainting every facet of our nation. The police, headed by a miscreant who fraternises with alleged criminals, is wholly failing its constitutional duty to protect the rights of ordinary citizens.

Leaders have quixotically urged South Africans to participate in the fight against crime. It is, however, simply impossible for us to make a radical dent in our astronomical crime rates when our government is saturated with corruption and self-interest. Like its President, the ruling party does not feel the sense of urgency required to conquer this incredibly difficult challenge – with heartrending consequences.